MADISON, Wis. –
The University of Wisconsin-Extension has removed all of the Gideon
Bibles from its conference center guest rooms at the urging of an
atheist activist organization.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)
states that it received a complaint last November from a visitor to the
university’s Lowell Center, who noticed the Bible in their room.

The organization then sent a letter to university officials,
asserting that the placement of the Gideon Bibles violated the
Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, which reads,
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

“It is a fundamental principle of Establishment Clause jurisprudence
that a government entity cannot promote, advance or otherwise endorse
religion,” the letter stated. “Permitting members of outside religious
groups the privilege of placing their religious literature in public
university guest rooms constitutes state endorsement and advancement of
these Christian publications.”

FFRF contended that if visitors want to read the Bible, they can
bring their own copy during their stay, or obtain one from the library.
It demanded that all Bibles be removed from the premises, and that a
written response be provided regarding the matter.

University of Wisconsin Chancellor Ray Cross then replied to the
letter, providing a brief notice that the Bibles would be removed as
requested.

“After carefully reviewing your concern, we have decided to remove
the Gideon Bibles from all guest rooms,” he wrote. “Thank you for making
us aware of this concern.”

FFRF has now applauded the decision, stating that it has been working
to have the Bibles removed from the campus since the 1980′s. It says
that it has also had issue with Bibles in hotel rooms, and has asked the
hotel industry to offer “Bible-free” rooms.

“We atheists and agnostics do not appreciate paying high prices for
lodging, only to find Gideon bibles in our hotel rooms, sometimes
prominently displayed, knowing they contain instructions, for instance,
to kill ‘infidels’ and ‘blasphemers,’ among other primitive and
dangerous teachings,” Co-President Dan Barker commented in a news
release this week.

In the meantime, the organization advises that it has been offering
its supporters stickers to place on Gideon Bibles, including one that
reads “Warning! Literal belief in this book may endanger your health and
life!”
However, some are expressing disappointment that the University of
Wisconsin so easily caved to FFRF’s demands that the Bibles be removed.

“How thin-skinned have we become in our country that we can be
offended because a Bible is placed in a drawer in a room? If you
disagree with the Bible and find it to be a farce or fairy tale, then
just ignore it,” Jeff Shergalis, assistant pastor at Madison Baptist
Church, told Christian News Network.
“I have never been offended when in the lobby of a doctor’s office I
see a copy of Mother Goose stories,” he continued. “It seems strange
that people who claim to be so intellectually superior that they are
above believing the Bible are so easily offended by it.”

“Many of our founding fathers read the Bible, quoted the Bible, and
believed the Bible,” Shergalis added. “It seems very sad when a city
that is named for a president who declared a ‘National Day of Prayer and
Fasting’ is so quick to remove God and His Word from its facilities.”